Insurance cover during the care of a disabled child

If a disabled child needs care, you may no longer be able to work. The Unemployment Insurance Act states: If you are caring for someone, the qualifying period for unemployment insurance is extended.

According to the Unemployment Insurance Act, there is a so-called qualifying period of 2 years. During this qualifying period, you must have been employed for at least 52 weeks in order to receive unemployment insurance benefits, such as unemployment allowance, for the first time. This does not include marginal employment. If you are caring for someone, the time spent caring for them is added to this timeframe.

This means that the timeframe in which the insurance periods must have been completed is extended by the period during which you provided care for the disabled child. In other words, insurance periods before the start of caregiving that would otherwise fall outside the qualifying period can still be taken into account.  You may therefore be entitled to unemployment insurance benefits after your period of care, provided that the following prerequisites are met:

• You have maintained continued insurance as a beneficiary or self-insurance under the pension insurance scheme while caring for a close relative who is entitled to a care allowance of level 3 or above, or
• You have maintained free self-insurance under the pension insurance scheme while caring for a child with a disability.

You do not need to submit an application to qualify.

Additional information

There is a maximum time limit: you can claim unemployment insurance benefits for up to 5 additional years. The prerequisites for this are that you are unemployed and during this time:

• are on family hospice leave or
• are con care leave, and
• receive care leave benefits.

For more information on unemployment insurance, click here:

You will no longer be covered by compulsory health insurance if you are no longer gainfully employed. In this case, you can apply for self-insurance.

With self-insurance in health insurance, you can take out voluntary health insurance. In 2025, you have to pay 526.79 euros per month for health insurance.

If you are facing financial hardship, your contribution will be lower. However, you will need to provide information about your finances.

How do I submit an application?

Submit your application to the regional office in your federal province. To do this, visit the general website of the ÖGK:

Select your federal province at the top under "Bundesland". You will now find the contact details for your federal province at the bottom right. You can send the application by post, e-mail or fax.

To the application

If you are facing financial hardship,  and meet certain criteria, you may be entitled to a lower contribution rate. To claim this reduced rate, complete the application for self-insurance and the application for a reduction in the contribution base. 
Please note on the form that you are caring for a disabled child. 

You can find both application forms under the following link:

If you are in need of social protection and want to apply for non-contributory self-insurance, click on the link below:

If you want to apply for self-insurance online, you need ID Austria. You can submit an online application here:

Additional information:

To access information for your federal province, click on the following link:

While you are caring for a disabled child, you may no longer be able to work yourself and are therefore no longer covered by compulsory insurance. However, you are entitled to free pension insurance. Until the disabled child's 40th birthday, the federal government will cover the costs of self-insurance. Free self-insurance only applies to one person.

The prerequisites for this are that you

• have your main residence in Austria,
• care for the child at home,
• receive increased family allowance due to caring for the child and that
• your work capacity is required to your role as a caregiver. 

To the application

For self-insurance, please submit the application by post or e-mail to the pension insurance provider.
If you want to apply for self-insurance, click here:

For more information on submitting the application, click on the following link:

If you want to apply for self-insurance online, you need an ID Austria. You can submit an online application here:

Additional information

Further information can be found at: